frilled lizard

American  

noun

1. a medium-sized Australian lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingi, having a large, cloaklike flap of skin on the neck that stiffens during courtship or threat displays, forming a wide ruff.

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Etymology

Origin of frilled lizard

First recorded in 1860–65; frill + -ed ³

Example Sentences

But Mr. Trump exaggerates himself — he’s the frilled lizard of politics, inflating his self-presentation to appear ever larger.

From New York Times • Feb. 16, 2016

In one poem she presents "the frilled lizard, the kind with no legs, and the three-horned chameleon . . . that take to flight if you do not."

From Time Magazine Archive